Following the Leader
by Snow-Glory
Summary: The best part, much to Athos relief, was that he had found Aramis. Alive and unharmed, just not in a manner that he'd expected.


For Lady Cavil. I prompted a story to her, she wrote it and then amazingly thanks to a sentence in hers she inadvertently prompted me :)

As always I own nothing but the livestock.

Athos leaned against the well-placed pillar and sighed. He was in an out of the way, well-hidden courtyard in the midst of the poorer district of Paris. Incidentally it was also right beside one of the most visited marketplaces of the area. Said marketplace was currently in shambles after a wayward wagon had barrelled through, toppling several stalls and killing an elderly lady.

The news of the catastrophe had reached the garrison fairly quickly and Athos, being the only one remaining in the yard after morning roster, had raced off to help. It was while he was there helping the residents pick up the debris and usher the dead woman to the morgue, that Athos heard of a second Musketeer that had been in the area at the time of the accident.

Alarmed, Athos frantically circled the marketplace looking for his missing Musketeer; he had assigned the patrol of this particular area to Aramis, he'd realized half way around the marketplace, and sped up his search. Several of the local Parisians had offered up small tips and clues, but a solid hour later nothing had been uncovered as to the whereabouts of Aramis. Athos had dejectedly turned around and prepared to leave, hoping that his friend had made his way back to the garrison, when an exceedingly scraggly black tail slid out from under a fallen piece of cloth.

It was Athos cat. Athos stalked over, grabbed the cat by the tail and pulled it out from under the debris. The cat hissed at Athos menacingly and swiped his paws at Athos' midsection. Athos cat was an independent feline and rarely seen anywhere near the garrison. The cat would pursue the residents of Paris like a hunter and bring Aramis all sorts of trinkets to show his gratitude to his owner. AC would randomly appear while they were on missions, following his owner from the shadows to make sure he was okay. That is how Athos knew that Aramis was nearby, because while you wouldn't always be able to see or find AC, he was always wherever Aramis was. "Bloody cat, I am looking for your owner!"

He dropped AC to the ground and frowned when the cat mewled and glared at his namesake before sauntering down a darkened alleyway. "I don't care what Aramis says," Athos announced to the cat as he followed him down the alley. "You and I are nothing alike!"

Athos was profoundly grateful for the cat a scant few minutes later as he came upon a well-hidden courtyard. It was nestled amongst the houses and was long and rectangular. Athos saw clotheslines hung to and fro across the courtyard some with partially dry clothing waving in the breeze. There were doors and balconies and small paths leading into the medium sized area. There were three or four fruit trees on the outskirts of the area bearing a few apples and figs. Despite being in a poorer district of Paris, it was well maintained and quaint.

The best part, much to Athos relief, was that he had found Aramis. Alive and unharmed, just not in a manner that he'd expected.

And so here he was, in the courtyard, sighing. Because how could one interrupt the spectacle he was faced with?

It was a comical sight and one that Athos intended to tease Aramis about for many, _many_ years. Aramis, the Musketeer, the best marksman in Paris, the famed lover of woman, was following a small child, and several small children were following him. They were all mimicking the girl in front as she sashayed and jumped and twirled all around the courtyard.

"What, my friend, are you doing?" Athos asked in the drollest voice he could possibly muster. Athos leaned against a pillar that was directly beside him and watched the proceedings with amusement.

"Ah, Athos!" Aramis responded gleefully as he continued to follow the small girl in front of him. It didn't surprise Athos that Aramis didn't startle in the slightest. Aramis was always aware of his surroundings. "Little ones! This is Athos, Captain of the King's Musketeers! The bravest of them all!"

The little girl in front of Aramis giggled and performed a petite curtsey, to which each of the following children responded in kind. Including Aramis.

Athos turned slightly, attempting to contain a snort, which would have surely insulted the children.

"We are currently playing a _rousing_ game of Follow the Leader. Will you join us my dear Captain?"

Athos merely shook his head and glanced towards the entrance and then pointedly at his friend, waiting for some sort of explanation other than _we are playing follow the leader_. "Aramis-"

"Oh, but I have not introduced you to our fearless leader, my Athos!" Aramis ignored whatever Athos was going to have said and brought forth the small girl that the group of children had been following. "This is our Lady Cavil, fairest maiden of the whole of Paris." He presented her with a grand flourish and bowed as deeply before her as he could without falling over.

"Pleased to have made your kind acquaintance my dear Captain, will you escort myself and my handmaidens to our homes?" the young lady requested. She waved her hand regally and smiled as her subjects flocked to her side. Again, including Aramis. "I fear I have over taxed myself and must rest."

"Oh, but my darling! You really should have mentioned something as grave as this earlier. We must make haste to the castle!" Aramis swiftly picked up the young lady and raced off towards a house on the far end of the courtyard.

The children cheered and raced after Aramis and the girl, trickling off as their parents appeared on doorsteps calling them in for mid-day luncheon. Athos moved forward, meeting up with Aramis on the other side of the courtyard just as the man deposited the girl into her father's arms.

"Thank you dear Aramis, for watching after all our young ones today." The father smiled gratefully at Aramis and nodded in respect towards Athos. "That catastrophe in the marketplace was no place for the children to be roaming about."

"It was my pleasure, monsieur." Aramis removed his hat and bowed slightly out of respect. "And it was not I, but the fair maiden, Yvette, here that minded the children." Athos smiled as Aramis winked at the little girl, causing her to dissolve in to high pitched giggles.

"Will you come again, Aramis?" she asked, eyes lighting up at the possibility. "We can play hide and seek next time!"

Aramis laughed deeply, eyes crinkling in glee. "Ah, dear Lady Cavil, I would love to! My friend, Athos, here, would agree that I am an excellent hider, and an even better seeker, wouldn't you Athos?"

"I do not have any clue of what you speak of. It's time we head back to the garrison Aramis; afternoon roster will need to be dealt with shortly." Athos turned, winking at Yvette and started walking out of the garrison.

It wasn't until he reached the marketplace that he noticed Aramis wasn't behind him. He bristled a little at the disrespect Aramis showed in not following his orders, and turned around to retrieve his wayward soldier, when the man appeared at the edge of the alleyway. The marksman was carrying something in his arms and was wide eyed in wonder.

"Aramis? What?-" Athos started.

"They wouldn't let me leave without taking some token of their gratitude. Honestly Athos it was not my intention to gain any rewards for watching the children. The marketplace was in upheaval and so I grabbed the children and pulled them to safety." Aramis slowly unwrapped the small bundle in his arms and held it out for Athos to see.

It was a baby goat... It squeaked, if you could call whatever sound it made a squeak, and blinked.

"Aramis. You are not bringing that in to the garrison!"

"But Athos! I can't just leave a baby goat to fend for itself! You have to let me come up with an alternative." Aramis pleaded.

Athos didn't bother answering, he grunted in frustration and grabbed the goat out of Aramis' arms. The blanket the baby goat had been wrapped in fell from Aramis' arms, landing on the dusty ground below. Athos held the goat aloft and stared at the tiny animal in wonder; then as if having had a rousing silent conversation, he nodded at it and tucked the goat under his arm and marched out of the marketplace.

"Athos! Wait... that's my goat!"

Aramis continued to plead all the way back to the garrison, not even stopping as Athos marched his way into the kitchens. Athos handed the goat to Serge, who quickly put together a bowl of milk and settled the animal down on the ground to drink.

"I suggest you think of a solution very quickly Aramis, for the goat is not staying in the garrison. You already have two cats and a dog, there is no need to add more livestock to this regiment." Athos said. He pushed Aramis backwards slightly and brushed past his friend as he left the kitchens, heading towards his office.

Aramis groaned and shared a look with Serge before leaving to follow Athos. He had no clue what he was going to do with a goat, but he knew he couldn't leave the sweet thing to fend for itself.

He was still mulling around ideas in his mind an hour later when d'Artagnan and Porthos strode into the garrison. Porthos immediately wandered off to see Serge in the kitchens, undoubtedly looking for leftovers from lunch.

"Aramis! Did you hear about the stray wagon that upended the southern market this morning?" D'Artagnan asked as he sat down beside his friend.

Aramis wasn't able to answer as Porthos suddenly wandered out of the kitchens, balancing plates in one hand and a small goat in the other. "Aramis? Serge asked me to give you this baby goat?" Porthos sounded so confounded, his face scrunched up in confusion. "When did you get a goat?"

It was d'Artagnan this time that squeaked as he jumped up from the table and ran for Porthos. He grabbed the baby goat from Porthos' hand and cooed and snuggled the animal. "Well aren't you the most adorable thing in the world?!"

"Is he talking baby talk?" Athos asked, as he walked down the steps.

Athos, Porthos and d'Artagnan glanced at Aramis suddenly when the marksman pushed away from the table with a gleeful shout. "I have a solution Athos!" Aramis turned towards d'Artagnan, smirking. "This is Constance's new goat, pup. Her name is Bob!"

Aramis clapped his hands together and grinned at d'Artagnan's expression of shock. "Come Athos! We have business to discuss, do we not?" He grasped the captain's arm and pulled him towards the steps to the office. "Your office has a lock on it right?"

"What is Constance going to do with a goat?" Aramis heard d'Artagnan ask Porthos. He paused long enough to watch Porthos shake his head and laugh. The brawler shrugged, and grabbed his plates of food before wandering off to his room at the garrison.

"Oh! And d'Artagnan?" Athos spoke up, as he unlocked his office door and pushed Aramis inside. "That goat-"

"Bob." Aramis whispered.

"What?"

"It's name is Bob."

" _Aramis_..." Athos hissed. He shoved his friend fully into the room and turned back to the still shocked d'Artagnan below. "Bob is not welcome in this garrison. Take the goat home immediately."

D'Artagnan looked down at the squirming bundle in his arms and then back towards the now empty table. "What just happened Bob?"


End file.
